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Waterloo plaza gets back to business after shooting

Shop owners have opened up their doors in University Commons plaza after gun shots rang out early Friday morning.

Windows and doors have been replaced, but bullet holes and scars are still visible.

Stuart Mackie and his friends were stopping by the plaza for some pizza when they heard what they said sounded like fireworks.

They saw a car driving away quickly. Mackie and a friend ran to the Subway restaurant to help while two others stayed back to call 911.

“I went to the bathroom inside and there were six or seven people huddled up super worried,” he said. “Everyone was okay, but they were pretty shocked.”

“Looking at it again, it’s really scary and crazy that this can happen. I still can’t process or digest it.”

Jeremy Lai has owned the Poke Box at the plaza for just over a year. His doors were closed on Friday for forensic investigation and open for business on Saturday.

“They called me around 9 p.m. and said they were done with my store,” he said. “I relayed a lot of what the police told me [to my employees] in terms of how they were planning to make the place more secure and have more patrols around as determents.”

Waterloo mayor Dave Jaworsky says he’s been in close contact with the chief of police.

“People are on edge because of the nature of these incidents,” he said. “We don’t really have gun violence here in Waterloo Region.

“Is this something that people are coming to our town and causing these problems? Or is it something that we have here in our town that we have to get a better understanding of and put an end to it?”

Police have not released the identity of the person who was shot at the plaza Friday morning.

The number of people involved in the incident is also unknown, but police believe it was targeted.

Police are also investigating another report of gunshots that happened just down the road on Saturday.

The Special Investigations Unit has invoked their mandate after two men were hit by a police cruiser responding to the scene.